Albany Devils' Viktor Loov, left, is called for slashing as he battles for the puck with Bridgeport Sound Tigers' Carter Verhaeghe during a hockey game at the Times Union Center on Wednesday, March 22, 2017 in Albany, N.Y. ( Lori Van Buren / Times Union) less

Albany Devils' Viktor Loov, left, is called for slashing as he battles for the puck with Bridgeport Sound Tigers' Carter Verhaeghe during a hockey game at the Times Union Center on Wednesday, March 22, 2017 in ... more

Devils' Reid Boucher, left, and Marlies' Viktor Loov chase a loose puck during Game 5 of the American Hockey League quarterfinal playoff series on Thursday, May 12, 2016, at Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union) ORG XMIT: MER2017031614504277 less

Devils' Reid Boucher, left, and Marlies' Viktor Loov chase a loose puck during Game 5 of the American Hockey League quarterfinal playoff series on Thursday, May 12, 2016, at Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y. ... more

LONDON, ON - OCTOBER 17: Blake Speers #18 of the Sault Greyhounds takes a faceoff against Christian Dvorak #10 of the London Knights during an OHL game at Budweiser Gardens on October 17, 2015 in London, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 578205545 less

LONDON, ON - OCTOBER 17: Blake Speers #18 of the Sault Greyhounds takes a faceoff against Christian Dvorak #10 of the London Knights during an OHL game at Budweiser Gardens on October 17, 2015 in London, ... more

Photo: Claus Andersen

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LONDON, ON - OCTOBER 17: Blake Speers #18 of the Sault Greyhounds celebrates a goal against the London Knights during an OHL game at Budweiser Gardens on October 17, 2015 in London, Ontario, Canada. The Knights defeated the Greyhounds 7-2. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 578205545 less

LONDON, ON - OCTOBER 17: Blake Speers #18 of the Sault Greyhounds celebrates a goal against the London Knights during an OHL game at Budweiser Gardens on October 17, 2015 in London, Ontario, Canada. The ... more

Photo: Claus Andersen

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LONDON, ON - OCTOBER 17: Blake Speers #18 of the Sault Greyhounds fires a shot at Tyler Parsons #1 of the London Knights during an OHL game at Budweiser Gardens on October 17, 2015 in London, Ontario, Canada. The Knights defeated the Greyhounds 7-2. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 578205545 less

LONDON, ON - OCTOBER 17: Blake Speers #18 of the Sault Greyhounds fires a shot at Tyler Parsons #1 of the London Knights during an OHL game at Budweiser Gardens on October 17, 2015 in London, Ontario, Canada. ... more

Photo: Claus Andersen

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LONDON, ON - OCTOBER 17: Blake Speers #18 of the Sault Greyhounds ends up in the net behind Tyler Parsons #1 of the London Knights during an OHL game at Budweiser Gardens on October 17, 2015 in London, Ontario, Canada. The Knights defeated the Greyhounds 7-2. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 578205545 less

LONDON, ON - OCTOBER 17: Blake Speers #18 of the Sault Greyhounds ends up in the net behind Tyler Parsons #1 of the London Knights during an OHL game at Budweiser Gardens on October 17, 2015 in London, ... more

Photo: Claus Andersen

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Albany Devils' defenseman hoping to face old teammates

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Albany

If familiarity breeds contempt, defenseman Viktor Loov should be pretty fired up for the Albany Devils' upcoming American Hockey League playoff series against the Toronto Marlies.

Loov, 24, had spent his entire three-year professional career in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, mostly with the Marlies, until a Feb. 18 trade that brought him to the A-Devils. Toronto acquired forward Sergey Kalinin.

It is uncertain whether Loov will play Thursday night's series opener at Times Union Center after missing Albany's final six regular-season games with an upper-body injury, but you know he wants to be out on the ice.

"Of course, it would be fun to play them," Loov said Wednesday. "I know almost every one of them. They've added some guys, but it's always fun playing against guys you know, especially when we play good, solid defense, too, to make the irritated. That's the best part about it."

Loov, a 2012 seventh-round of the Maple Leafs from Sodertalje, Sweden, was on the Toronto side of last season's postseason matchup, a grueling seven-game series won by the Marlies.

The Devils played physically in the series to try to neutralize the Marlies' speed.

"When you play a team as Toronto," Loov said, "they've got a lot of speed and a lot of skill guys, but they're a little bit smaller, especially their forward. Of course, (playing physically) is a way to do it, but you also need to match their speed and skate with them. That's what they're good at."

Loov participated in a full practice Wednesday for the first time since the injury. If he is cleared, there is no guarantee he will be in the lineup, since the Devils have nine defensemen they feel comfortable playing.

"We purposely went with nine 'D' (in practice) so he could get involved in line rush and D-zone stuff, and he looked good," Devils coach Rick Kowalsky said. "I'm expecting a good report back. We'll see when I talk to the medical staff and go from there."

No throwing Speers aside

Although he practiced with the second group, rookie forward Blake Speers is an option to play against Toronto, Kowalsky said.

Speers, 20, was assigned to Albany on Tuesday after his Ontario Hockey League playoff run with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds ended. He arrived in town late Tuesday night.

"We've seen him enough," Kowalsky said. "He started the year in the NHL, and from an organizational standpoint we like his game. The good thing is ... he just finished playing. We get some of these college guys that have been done 10 days, two weeks. We're not worried about conditioning or game intensity.

"Junior's not the American League, but (the Devils like) the way he plays, what he can bring from a speed standpoint and defensively responsible, and we like his intensity and work ethic from what we've seen. He certainly gives us another option. He's a right-hand shot as well."

Speers had 34 points in 30 regular-season games with Sault Ste. Marie and another 12 points in 11 playoff contests.

The New Jersey Devils have also reassigned Speers' Sault Ste. Marie teammate, defenseman Colton White, to the A-Devils.

The Devils' roster is now at 35, including three Blakes — Coleman, Pietila and Speers.

Toronto's roster currently has 26, although forwards Kasperi Kapanen and Nikita Soshnikov could return to the Marlies if the Maple Leafs are eliminated from the NHL playoffs. There also are Marlies players — including ex-Devil Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond — who are not listed on the official roster but still in residence with the team.

Two of the Devils won't be playing because of injury: forward Ryan Kujawinski (concussion) and goaltender Scott Wedgewood (shoulder surgery).